Bentley unaffected by loss of world title, fires back at Hearn jibes
Denzel Bentley’s bizarre world middleweight title reign came and went without him ever setting foot in a boxing ring.
“It was the greatest three months of my life,” he says. “No, I’m joking.”
The Londoner claimed the WBO interim title with a seventh-round knockout of Endry Saavedra in London on April 4, then was elevated to full champion three months later.
However, after failing to meet his mandatory obligation against No. 1 contender Yoenli Hernandez, the WBO stripped the 31-year-old of his belt.
It means Bentley (22-3-1, 18 KOs) joined a very elite club of boxers who not only won their world title via email but also lost it without throwing a punch.
“I don't even know what to say, man,” he says, shrugging. “Nothing feels different, I'll be honest. “From when I got elevated to when I've been stripped, it's just the news. Nothing has changed in my life. My life's still the same. When I became champion, it didn't change; when I got stripped, it didn't change. My career's still moving forward. I've got a great fight on Saturday.”
That fight comes against Shane Mosley Jr. (23-5, 13 KOs) at London’s Copper Box Arena in the first fight of his new deal with Zuffa Boxing following his decision to end a long alliance with Queensberry Promotions.
Bentley and his team had petitioned the WBO to allow the clash with Mosley Jr. to stand as a voluntary defense on the basis that the winner would face Hernandez next, but the sanctioning body denied that appeal. Instead, Bentley will fight Mosley without a belt, and Hernandez and Michael Zerafa will now contest for the vacant title.
Zerafa’s promoter Eddie Hearn has had a lot to say about the situation, suggesting Bentley has been ill-advised and that the loss of his title shows Zuffa Boxing and its head, Dana White, simply don’t know what they’re doing.
The Matchroom chairman said that Bentley had made the wrong decision to leave Queensberry for Zuffa for the sake of “100 or £200,000.”
Bentley says: “He's so good at spinning narratives, but Eddie Hearn wasn't involved in any of the negotiations with Zuffa. He doesn't really know what's going on.
“Even him saying 100, 200 grand more, it's a lot of money for me. If it's not for him, but it is for me. Leave the fighters alone, bro. We're just trying to make a living, man.
“He's never promoted me, so he doesn't know what I've earned or what I've had to do to get to where I am now. So him saying that is all just taking a shot at Dana and Zuffa.”
Against that backdrop, Bentley has prepared diligently for his clash with Mosley Jr., the chief support on the event headlined by Chris Billam-Smith against Chev Clarke, which will be shown live on Sky Sports. It will be Bentley’s debut on the channel, having boxed on BT Sport, TNT and DAZN so far.
He is the favorite against Mosley Jr., but he is taking nothing for granted given what could lie in wait during 2027.
“Moving forward, it's just big fights,” he says. “Going back to Eddie Hearn talking about legacy and if I want to unify. Where else am I going to unify if all the middleweights are here? Two of the champions are with Zuffa right now.”
Irishman Aaron McKenna claimed the IBF belt on a Zuffa show in Dublin in August, and they have just signed Carlos Adames to a promotional contract too. “I made the decision to come here, and now another two champions are here too," he adds. "Fortunately for them, they get to keep their title, and unfortunately for me, I didn't.
"But if I was allowed to keep my title, I'd be unifying with them guys next. That was the plan, and that was the aim, but I just wasn't allowed to do that.”
But before Bentley can think about becoming a two-time middleweight champion, he has to take care of business at Copper Box Arena.
“Next year could be a defining one in my career,” he says. “That's why I've got to finish this year first before we get to next year. You can't even worry about it.
“Fights against McKenna and Adames have been mentioned, but not directly. Listen, we're in conversations, but they will change if I don’t win on Saturday.”
